Google voice-enables movie-ticket buying with Fandango
Enhanced capability is likely a preview of many similar Google Assistant integrations to come.
Google Assistant
Google Assistant is both the name of a consumer-facing assistant baked into consumer products as well as a platform designed to allow the Google search engine to interact with users in a conversational manner.
Google Assistant was announced in May 2016. It first appeared integrated into Google’s communication app Allo in September 2016. In October 2016, it was made part of the Google Pixel phone. In November 2016, it was put into the Google Home device. In February 2017, it came to Android Wear watches. In March 2017, it was widely released for Android phones running Android 6 and 7.
Google plans to add Google Assistant into more products and applications, but it hasn’t said what those will be.
For more about Google Assistant, see our stories below.
SearchCap: Google AdWords Editor, Bing Audience Ads & recipe markup changes
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google updates recipe markup for Google Search & Google AssistantMay 3, 2018 by Barry Schwartz Google requires that the recipeIngredient and recipeInstructions properties for recipes work on Google Assistant. Compare 16 […]
Google updates recipe markup for Google Search & Google Assistant
Google requires that the recipeIngredient and recipeInstructions properties for recipes work on Google Assistant.
SearchCap: Crawl budget, content development & shopping ads
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: The ultimate guide to bot herding and spider wrangling — Part TwoMay 2, 2018 by Stephan Spencer Next up in a series on bots and why crawl budgets are important, Columnist […]
First look! Here’s what you can expect at SMX Advanced
SMX Advanced is unique in so many ways. It’s the premier experts-only conference programmed by the team at Search Engine Land, the publication of record for search marketers. It attracts the biggest group of the world’s most sophisticated marketers for three days of learning and sharing. And it celebrates search marketers with the largest and […]
SearchCap: Voice assistant study, SEO audits & PPC budgets
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Surefire tactics to get the most value out of budget-limited campaignsApr 27, 2018 by Amy Bishop Since few people have money to burn, contributor Amy Bishop shares how to get the […]
Study: Google Assistant most accurate, Alexa most improved virtual assistant
While one new study on voice assistants compares the quality of different providers' answers, the other drills into Google's data sources for 22 verticals.
SearchCap: PPC policies, Google Assistant failovers & voice interfaces
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Voice agents and interfaces will require many new marketing strategiesApr 19, 2018 by Barry Levine Marketers are only now getting a glimpse of the many approaches that will be required for […]
Google Assistant sometimes uses AccuWeather when their weather service fails
When Google's first-party responses are not available, Google may ask if you want to use a third-party service.
In big win, Apple hires Google AI chief John Giannandrea away from Google
Apple must succeed in AI if it is to remain competitive with rivals.
April Fools’ Day 2018: Google, Amazon & more have fun over the weekend
April Fools' Day 2018: Google, Amazon & more have fun over the weekend
SearchCap: SEO factors, negative local reviews & link building
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: 8 types of negative reviews Google will removeMar 22, 2018 by Joy Hawkins Is someone getting back at your company by leaving negative reviews? Contributor Joy Hawkins shares types of reviews […]
Session recap from SMX West: Optimizing for voice search and virtual assistants
Contributor Eric Enge recaps an advanced-level SEO session on the role voice search and personal assistants can play in content discovery and conversions.
Google Shopping Actions: The new cost-per-sale, unified shopping program on Search, Assistant & Express
In its answer to Amazon, Google's new umbrella program will extend existing relationships with retailers and enable universal checkout across platforms and devices.
Once a competitive advantage, Siri now seen as liability for Apple
Failure to improve Siri will eventually impact iPhone sales.
SearchCap: Google Images with captions, AdWords notes & AdWords message reports
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Images update: Captions added to images, pulled from the page title tagMar 13, 2018 by Michelle Robbins To add more context to image results, Google will now display a caption […]
SearchCap: Google Assistant updates, search referral growth & marketing efforts
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Assistant to get multiple new languages, distribution and skillsFeb 23, 2018 by Greg Sterling The Assistant will soon speak 30 languages and be able to offer mobile carrier customer support. […]
Google Assistant to get multiple new languages, distribution and skills
The Assistant will soon speak 30 languages and be able to offer mobile carrier customer support.
How do you optimize content for a voice-first world?
Want to know how to optimize your content for voice search? Contributor Sherry Bonelli shares how to incorporate smart SEO tactics to increase the chance of being heard.
SearchCap: Getty Images, SEO and website migrations & Winter Olympics Doodles
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google, Getty Images enter a multi-year global licensing partnershipFeb 12, 2018 by Greg Sterling The deal effectively ends Getty’s European antitrust complaint against Google. Monitoring web migrations: A checklist for moving […]
SearchCap: India fines Google, Bing Webmaster Tools login & Chrome on HTTP
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Effective July 2018, Google’s Chrome browser will mark non-HTTPS sites as ‘not secure’Feb 8, 2018 by Michelle Robbins After years of pushing for ‘secure by default’ web sites, Google will identify […]
SearchCap: New Google Assistant features, improving ROAS & Carter G. Woodson Google doodle
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Assistant adds new media capabilities ahead of HomePod release Feb 1, 2018 by Greg Sterling You can now wake up to a favorite playlist and use voice to pick up […]
Google Assistant adds new media capabilities ahead of HomePod release
You can now wake up to a favorite playlist and use voice to pick up where you left off with Netflix shows.
Google publishes comprehensive guide to featured snippets
Learn more about how Google’s featured work, the variations and some of the challenges Google faces with these snippets.
SearchCap: Google Home queries, Google My Business video bug & YouTube ad rules
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Study: 80% of Google Home results come from snippetsJan 18, 2018 by Greg Sterling But they aren’t always the source of answers for Google Home. Turn finger traffic to foot trafficJan […]
SEO trends and Google changes to expect in 2018
Columnist Pratik Dholakiya explores current search trends and speculates on where the industry might be headed in 2018.
It’s Google Home vs. Amazon Alexa at CES in the battle for the voice ecosystem
Google and Amazon both announce new device partnerships; the Google Assistant will be on new "smart display" devices, more TVs, speakers and in cars.
Google says Assistant now on more than 400 million devices
Sales of Google Home smart speakers are considerably smaller.
New search quality raters guidelines for Google Assistant and voice search evaluations
Google has quality raters specifically for voice search-related search results. These raters look for information satisfaction, length, formulation and elocution.
New test prominently showcases Google Express in mobile search results
A test includes a new callout and ad treatment for the shopping program in mobile search results.
5 (less obvious) PPC trends to watch in 2018
Here are several trends that will affect nearly every search marketer in the year ahead.
What to watch for in 2018: Mobile SEO predictions
Mobile SEO expert Cindy Krum shares her predictions for where mobile is headed in 2018 and dives deep into how current trends fit into the impending mobile-first index.
SearchCap: Google webmaster videos, new mobile search experiments & Assistant SDK updates
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google tests ‘more results’ mobile search interface and new search refinement buttonsDec 21, 2017 by Barry Schwartz Google told us, “We constantly experiment with new search formats and experiences to deliver […]
The Google Assistant SDK adds support for additional languages & more
In addition to new language support, Google has added customized settings, text-based queries & responses, device action functionality and more.
SearchCap: Google algorithmic update, SEO reviews & mobile apps
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google confirms mid-December search ranking algorithm updateDec 20, 2017 by Michelle Robbins As the update continues to roll out, early indications suggest disruptions in mobile SERPs, sites with no schema data […]
PPC 2017: Epic review of the biggest trends & updates in paid search
This year, artificial intelligence and machine learning underpinned nearly every paid search update.
SearchCap: Google mobile-friendly, email marketing with AdWords & Yelp reviews
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google offers advice on how to get ready for the mobile-first indexDec 18, 2017 by Barry Schwartz Check your log files to see if you see an increase in smartphone Googlebot […]
SEO in 2018: Optimizing for voice search
Columnist Bryson Meunier argues that by understanding the nuances of voice search, marketers can do a better job of helping searchers find exactly what they're looking for when they're asking for it by voice.
SearchCap: Top Google searches, more data in Search Console & Google Assistant expands
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Hurricane Irma was the No. 1 top trending Google search in the US & globally for 2017Dec 13, 2017 by Amy Gesenhues Google has released its top trending searches of the […]
Google Lens an impressive start for ‘visual search’
While it makes lots of mistakes, it also gets lots of things right.